EmperorCharlemagne's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[SMWCastleTheme-Metaljonus]

Ahh

Cool shit bro.

The rhythm guitar and drums were pretty damn awesome all throughout, especially the drums with the changing up of the rhythms from time to time to keep the listener attentive. You made the low brass more audible, which is better than what I could say of the WIP. This is one of those songs which just got better as it progressed. Love the scaling arpeggios that lead (or was it a guitar?) played around 1:10ish. Very cool sounding, and I love how everything meshed.

[Bottles and the moon]

Cool!

This is a pretty darn cool track.

I like how it mainly deals with resonance; not a whole lot of songs take that approach (I've been thinking of making a song or so like that myself), so I give you props on that one.

Nice and simple harmonies and whatnot... I just really like it. Good job!

Calamaistr responds:

thanks man, yea exactly i was playing with resonance glad you noticed ;)

Was almost scared that people would think it was shit because they had the volume to low, its best with headphones heh.. i always make my music with headphones on. ;þ

[Infected (Frances' Bad Day)]

Not bad... kinda cool, actually.

Lack of structure really doesn't bother me as much as another guy would have it bother him... that's because I usually listen to music with very little structure to begin with.

I thought that the weird noises at the beginning were pretty neat and a novel way of opening the song. The buzzing was pretty cool, but I hated when they just cut out, it sounded pretty unnatural.

I liked the leads and synths in here, and thought they did a pretty coolio von schooleo job.

Over all, I think this was a pretty decent mix. Good job.

Chozz responds:

Thank you :) The buzz are actually flies, taken from the game l4d :D

[Kevin]

Things really get jumpin' at 1:25

Gosh does it get cool after that quick jazzy interlude. I didn't expect that, so you get points for originality. I like the weird noises that come afterward; they make the song song unique. Once it gets even more bluesy and jazzy, I begin to like this song more and more.

It has a unpolished feel to it, but that's not a bad thing here, because it contributes very well to the mood that is getting across to the listener... You don't hear DnB/Techno songs like this around here, and original songs like this really stick out and are admired by me (at the very least). This is a well-done song; congratulations.

Chozz responds:

Thanks for the input :)

Yeah i know what you mean about the unpolished feeling. I tend with my songs to rush it after the main structure of the song is built, not taking the time to eq up and sift out little mistakes. Guess it's something that I should work on.

Cheers for listening.

[Anodra]

Cool stuff

A nice dirty and gritty feel to it... And I like the dissonant melody going along with the less than pleasant drums.
I wish this could have gone on a bit longer; it seems like it could have went somewhere pretty cool. That is to say, cooler, because where it went as is is pretty cool.

A nice and original piece.

That-Is-Bull responds:

I'm working on a longer version of this right now, it's sounding pretty decent so far. Thanks for the review.

[Enlisting the Aid of Gods]

Some thoughts

I'll be the first to say it right here: I really don't like orchestra hits. They sound kinda cheesy and unbelievable to me, and case in point, they are the same way in this song. It would have been much better if you sequenced the actual instruments to do the hits instead of a generic orchestra hit soundfont. Plus, with those extra instruments, you could have done some cool things to the song. I mean, doesn't it just sound ridiculous that the strings in your orchestra hit don't sound the same as the strings that are doing the dang melody? Why should that be?

Also, this is way too short. I was expecting a nice resolution to the tension building up throughout the entire piece, but you end if before any hint of relief comes along, and it leaves you hanging in not exactly the best way... This could have been done with a simple horn soli, or something to that effect... Remember, not every 'epic classical song' needs to have this insane buildup of tension all-throughout... You have to know how to diversify your emotional expression.

As well, this could have used a few more instruments. The piccolo/flute comes in and does a nice accompaniment for a little while... and then just leaves and never returns. Why? It doesn't make any musical sense. It's like the musical equivalent of ADHD. This could have used more instruments not only to diversify things, but to give support to the main simplistic-yet-enjoyable melody.

This needs a lot more work; or rather, since no one goes back to remaster songs, when you start a similar project, keep these things in mind:

-Actual instruments instead of orchestra hits
-have instruments come and go WITHIN REASON... don't forget about what you're using!
-while too much accompaniment leaves things sounding cluttered and muddy, no accompaniment makes things sound just... eh.
-Musical resolutions to building tension are good medicine

My thoughts.

FangedLuciferous responds:

:O ...wow... Someone actually gave me criticism. Thank you, a thousand times thank you. EVERYONE LOOK! This is what a review should be.

[Syntrus- World Ender]

Well, I DO get an ethereal sense from this song...

Maybe that means that the world IS ending?? Only the Mayans know... : )

Anyway, I really dig this track. The synths really do their job here, and panning from left to right is always a really cool effect in my book. I like the bass and drum-work, they set the mood right along with the rhythm synth.

The groove in this one undeniable.

Syntrus responds:

the emperor has spoken! thanks for the review!

[Utmost Concentration]

Cooleo von schooleo

It seems that that FL9 really IS pretty advanced.

Like the feel to it, it's got a bit of a new-age jungle feel to the whole affair. Like the square synths in how they change between major and minor thirds. I know these are just demo sounds, but gosh damn they sound good, better than what I usually associate with FL (ie like Soulja Boi).

Though the song is in a few places simplistic, I never feel that that is a detriment to anything.
In short, it's nicely crafted.

AbsoluteBillion responds:

To be honest, there wasn't too much a difference in FL9 to FL8, just one new synth (Ogun) is all I've seen, which I did use.

Thanks for the review, man.

[[Dr.S] Gmam]

Well, I DO love 9 chords...

Short sweet and to the point. It is nothing groundbreakingly phenomenal, but for what it is, it's nice. I like the chord progression and the melodic overlay for the chords... The piano, while confined to merely chords, doesn't feel underutilized, either. Good job on achieving that.

Good job!

Dr-Slump responds:

Why, thank you Mr. Charles. 9th chords are the best!! Sadly, they are kinda dissonant, so it's a bit dangerous to use them... gotta know what you're doing. Did you know that most of the songs from The Police are made with 9th chords? Just a quick example... the most famous one, Every Breath You Take. I'm a big fan of them as you can see...

Anywho, thanks for the review, be sure to check out my other songs too! I'd recommend bel air and nuzuvidu.

[underworld sinks TTCX3]

Sweet

I really like this song a whole bunch, but I don't think it is fast-paced enough to go with the story you are trying to convey... Maybe a faster beat or a higher tempo?
Just a thought....

However, it seems to be leaning that way towards the end of the piece, when there is a good amount of tension brewing, but it ends before there is a fruition of that tension, so we are left hangin'. If this is meant to be a loop, then it doesn't really loop well, in my opinion; the ending is far too abrupt and a bit haphazard, as if you almost just wanted the song to end.

However, I loved the harmonies here, as well as the interesting rhythms and other good things of that sort; the song really really stands out for me. In that regard I give a song a 9, not perfect because it doesn't quite contain the tension you wanted, and the ending just felt out of place.

Good job overall though.

Calamaistr responds:

Well, i did want to make it a loop because every other piece in this album was a loop, also i wanted to somehow portray every character of the previous entry's with individual melodies, but it had to be rushed and chaotic because afterall underworld was sinking and everyone made for the exit.

Now the reason that it loops back to the start at the peak of tension is because underworld ceases, afterall Barheire is the keyholder, and he ends with Underworld, so with that you can only conclude something else takes place that i cannot tell with music.

(such as An ruerim sending a seraphim champion in to finish the job (Uriël / Boriël) even while everyone is both escaping and in the chaos of battle, the whole place completely imploding, lone being rescued by an old friend (esfin, a assasin girl from very old episodes of TC (before it became TTC), who is then killed by the seraphim champion (uriël / boriël) while lone is still unconcious. Nebuchadnezzar then arises from the rubble holding Barheire's head in his hands wich causes Uriël to flee before he sees chance to also kill lone.

What happens after is unsure, but most die. Kasiuu and his sister, Odessa Salemn and Ivory, Barheire and Anis grav (anis grav is crushed in the rubble, wich is quite ironic seeing as his magic consisted of gravitational elements) So only lone and nebuchadnezzar survive.

Nebuchadnezzar will surely command man for a deciding battle.

Kindof leaving open the option of TTCX4 in wich they take on An ruerim, but i dont know if i will ever write that.

Im sure there are still a few things that could be improved about the plot, i admit i rushed things a bit because to be frank i lost the will to work on it (the TTCX3 storyline, the music is easy)..
To be honest i think that it would be better to make a score for the original TTC novel (unpublished) because atleast that plot is a solved puzzle to me and the story.
A few of the music is even already written (see older music made on console, such as katlean and atadema etc, those belong to the TTC original story, also known as TTC CHGENERO)

All in all TTCX3 underworld is quite unpolished, far from a masterpiece, but this score was fun to make.

and yea i know this must be the longest response on a review, ever.